Brad Pitt returns to the big screen playing against type as a mob enforcer in director Andrew Dominik’s violent crime thriller, Killing Them Softly.

Based on the novel Cogan’s Trade, Soflty stars Pitt as a man hunting down two crooks who ripped off a Mob-backed card game. While Pitt may be a newcomer to the gangster genre, most of his co-stars are not. The Sopranos’ James Gandolfini and Goodfellas’s Ray Liotta also star.

So how does Pitt’s latest fare with the critics? Read on to find out…

Despite the reteaming of critical favorite Dominik with his Assassination of Jesse James leading man, reactions to the film are decidedly mixed.

“Killing Them Softly is more concerned with conjuring an aura of meaningfulness than with actually meaning anything. It takes place entirely in a universe of tropes and archetypes, which is a polite way of saying clichés and pretensions.”

“Dominik shows an open appreciation for his actors and for the way tough guys, aspiring and genuine, talk to each other – and Killing Them Softly is as much centered around talking as it is action. Pitt, playing a practical know-it-all who falls somewhere between Rusty Ryan and Tyler Durden, is terribly entertaining…”

“It’s fair play,” the actor laughed in regards to the recent Saturday Night Livesketch during an appearance on ABC’s Good Morning America on Thursday. “I did press all day yesterday and I was getting crushed [for the ad].”

For the record, Pitt says he hasn’t seen the sketch yet, but that he heard “it’s pretty good.”

During the second part of a one-on-one interview with GMA’sElizabeth Vargas. The actor has been making the media rounds lately to support his role as Jackie Cogan in the upcoming action thriller, Killing Them Softly.

Pitt, 48, described the film, which some critics have referred to as violent, as “an intelligent drama with a few dark laughs.” While the film is definitely not shy on the violence, he told Vargas there are actually only three deaths in the whole movie.

When the anchor commented on his above average ability with holding a gun, the World War Z star said, “I’m no stranger to guns. It’s kind of a rite of passage in the Ozarcks.”

This prompted Vargas to bring up their shared past attending the University of Missouri, complete with pictures of the superstar and the anchor in college.

Killing Them Softly opens nationwide on Friday.

What do you think about Pitt’s Chanel ad? Will you be seeing Pitt’s new film? Let us know in the comments below!

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Breaking Dawn — Part 2, starring Kristen Stewart, has earned $200 million in the U.S. as of Monday, bringing its worldwide total to a franchise-high of $577 million.

In it’s third frame, Skyfall earned $34 million over the weekend, making the 23rd James Bond film the first 007 picture to hit $200 million in the U.S. Directed by Sam Mendes, Skyfall’s current worldwide box office rests at an impressive $790 million.

Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln continued to show great legs at the U.S. box office, securing the No. 3 spot with $25 million. Dreamworks’ Rise of the Guardians, considered to be a major player at the Thanksgiving box office, came in at No. 4, with a less-than-expected take of $24 million.

Meanwhile, 20th Century Fox’s adaptation of the novel Life of Pi exceeded expectations, scoring a fifth-place finish with $22 million in three days. The 3D film was expected to gross $20 million for the entire holiday period, a total it cleared in its first three days. Currently, Pi’s five-day total sits at $30.2 million.

MGM’s long-delayed remake of Red Dawn opened at No. 7, with a 3-day tally of $14 million ($22 million over five days).